Many could not believe it. We, too, could not believe it when they said our small country is the 35th largest polluter in the world, but we cannot dispute it since that is the official report of the Department of Energy. Yet we are the fifth worst affected by climate change over the last 20 years.

This is the reason the Philippines has recognized the importance of avoiding the increase of and, if possible reducing, greenhouse gas emissions which are mainly carbon dioxide and smaller amounts of methane and nitrous oxide gases that are released during the combustion of fossil fuels such as coal and oil.

To curb GHG emissions, the government has enacted an array of laws and policies to promote decarbonization. One of them is the Climate Change Act of 2009 which led to a National Framework Strategy in 2010 and an Action Plan on Climate Change in 2011, which emphasizes the promotion of energy efficiency, renewable energy, and sustainable transport systems, gradually reducing dependence on fossil-based fuels.

This was followed by setting ambitious goals for the use of renewable power that are outlined in the 2010 National Renewable Energy Program. In 2015, the government announced an ambitious target of cutting the country's GHG emissions by 75 percent by 2030 on the condition the Philippines would get funding support abroad. Of the target, 72.29 percent would be achieved through the support of climate finance, technologies, and capacity development provided by developed countries, as prescribed by the United Nations Paris Agreement. The remaining 2.71 percent of the target should be implemented mainly through domestic resources.

The target is the Philippines' share in the implementation of the Paris Agreement, which it ratified in 2017. The agreement aims to help countries mitigate climate change effects through financial assistance with the long-term goal of limiting the rise of global temperature to below 2 °C (3.6 °F).

To help achieve the ambitious yet well-intentioned target, the government has forged a partnership with the private sector involved in the energy sector, paving the way for the formation of the Philippine Energy Efficiency Alliance Inc., a non-stock, non-profit civil society organization convened by private- and public-sector energy efficiency market stakeholder entities.

PE2's objectives of organizing, encouraging, and promoting advocacies, initiatives, studies, projects, programs, policy directions, financing strategies, best ethical practices, and sources of energy efficiency, energy conservation, and renewable energy are all aimed at assisting the Philippines in achieving its long-term targets of reducing GHG emissions, increasing renewal energy productivity, and increasing energy security.

Members of the PE2 are considered as "ESCO" or Energy Service Company, a business enterprise that develops, installs, and finances projects designed to improve energy efficiency and reduce operations and maintenance costs for its customers' facilities.

ESCOs generally act as project developers for a wide range of tasks and assume the technical and performance risk associated with the project, they provide much-needed power engineering expertise, enabling power investors to concentrate more on their core business as well as assist in budget stabilization, reducing risks in the market while implementing energy efficiency improvements,
The good news is that PE2 has officially welcomed the Philippine Association of Coastal and Inland Water Ferries Inc. as its newest Associate (D) Member in its bid to extend its advocacies to the maritime sector. PACIWFI became one of the potential ESCOs on 18 October 2022.

PACIWFI, whose members are owners/operators of short-distance ferries, is the first PE2 member coming from the maritime industry which is widely considered to be one of the major sources of GHG emissions.

Perhaps one important factor that merited PACIWFI's invitation to join PE2 is the association's pioneering efforts to introduce new energy-efficient technologies for the propulsion system for coastal and inland ferry boats.

A strong advocate of modernization of the country's domestic shipping, PACIWFI is now exploring the use of electric propulsion systems among its members as the group's humble contribution to decarbonization and achieving the country's long-term target to reduce GHG emissions.

We will share more on that in the next issue.